It willl be mine!

This photo is evidence of one of the last times Snipe was able to perform her sneaky trick of diving under a chair to get to Midge’s abandoned food bowl. Not long after this photo was taken, she got stuck and I don’t think she’s tried to get under a chair since then!

Snipe - 10 November 2007

She was 6 months old at the time and really starting to leave her puppy features behind but it’s odd looking back at that photo as in comparison to her 18 month old self of today, she looks so weeny! And yet she’s got another 18 months before she’s properly mature! You gotta love Labradors…!

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5 responses to this post.

What a sneaky pup! I must admit, when our dogs have their dinner, there is absolutely NOTHING left and it looks like it’s had an hour in the dish washer. Must have been a bit scary to have got stuck under the chair.

LOL! Bless her 🙂 Betty my lab is 14 months and massive, she can’t really get under the picnic bench in the garden anymore. But I think she tries to hold everything in and squeezes herself in there somehow 🙂

Thanks for your comment, Hilary. Until a month or so ago, Midge, my Jack Russell, was took the description “a fussy eater” to new extremes. She’d eat maybe two or three biscuits and then walk away! The only thing she would eat was tinned dog food (not counting real meat plus anything she stole). It’s taken a long time and a lot of patience but she now not only scoffs every last biscuit in her bowl, she cleans it as well. Never thought I’d see the day!

Snipe was quite fussy until she was about 4 months old and then woke up to her Labrador heritage… The only time since then that she went off her food was when she first came into season. She’s great as she also cleans the cats’ plates for me as well before I wash them!

And yes, she was very scared when she got stuck, though that only happened because she stood up whilst under the chair!

One of the things that has made us realise how quickly our 11-week-old Border Collie pup Brynn is growing, is the fact that he now has to make a conscious effort to duck when he whizzes underneath the coffee table! For the first few weeks when he arrived, he was nowhere near it & happily bowled all around the room. Then we noticed his bottom started to push open the drawer from underneath when he was chasing his ball…& now there”s the occasional CRACK! & YELP! as he forgets how tall he is – poor lad; I find myself rubbing my own forehead, in sympathy.

Thankfully apart from snaffling some cat food once, he’s learned as a result that he is neither allowed over the threshold of the kitchen nor the dining room – & gets ‘privileges’ for good behaviour (cuddling up with us, lots of extra ‘play’ etc – which he’d have got anyway); for him it’s all learning, which he loves. So he’s “learned” that if he “stays’ when told; doesn’t go in the kitchen (the door is permanently open); ignores us at our meal times; doesn’t chase the chickens; & keeps well away from the cats, he has what he apparently perceives to be, lots of lovely ‘extras’. Suits me!!

And it’s been fantastic in disciplinary terms…for example, he quietly waits to have his food placed in front of him & does not try to eat until given the ‘OK’; & will drop anything he’s chewing – immediately – if instructed, “Leave”.

I was admittedly dismayed to learn that the new defra regulations on petcare insist that dogs are never disturbed during a meal; my trainer has always insisted that no matter how “food proud” the dog it’s vitally important to be able to withdraw whatever they’re eating or chewing, whenever the need arises, regardless. What if they’d got hold of a poisoned bone, for example? Or if they found a bottle of medication which could kill them….? I’m sorry; I’d simply have to wade in there to save my dog’s life; even if it meant that temporarily abusing his “canine rights” caused me to be prosecuted. Would you omit smacking your child’s hand when she was reaching out for the fire whilst ignoring your respectful request not to touch it….??

I must admit I haven’t actually read the new guidelines. I vaguely thought when they came out that there are far too many people out there who need instructions on how to keep a pet (or maybe just a banning order) but now my curiosity has been piqued…

I agree about the dog’s meal – that’s one of the most important things you can teach a dog, to give up possession of the meal / toy to a human. In the wild, the top dog would get first dibs at the best bit of whatever food was available, even if another dog caught or found it. So if your dog steps aside when you say you want what’s in its bowl, you’ve established the hierarchy and placed yourself above the dog in the pecking order.

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